NETWORKING

Report: SMBs Drawn To 802.11n

A survey by ABI Research asking "What do Cisco SMB Wi-Fi Customers Really Want?" identified increased bandwidth and greater security among the answers.ABI surveyed Cisco and Linksys SMB customers because those two brands account for half of the WiFi market share. The survey found that 45 percent of Cisco customers and 41 percent of Linksys customers had definite plans to upgrade to the 802.11n wireless standard, with the majority planning to do so within the next 12 months.

WiFi network security was a big issue for many in the survey, who would like to contract out their security measures. "SMBs don't have time or resources to manage security," according to ABI vice president and research director Stan Schatt. "Nearly half of those surveyed expressed an interest in [a managed WLAN security monitoring service]."InformationWeek